The Abortion Rights Campaign is gravely concerned about the continuing delay in introducing legislation to protect the lives of pregnant women in Ireland. ARC call on Minister James Reilly to ensure Cabinet is presented with the heads of Bill before next Tuesday, so that legislation can be enacted before the summer. This is the only way to hold to the guarantees given by this government to both the Irish people and the Council of Europe to publish the Bill in April of this year and see it passed into Irish law by July.

Commenting, Abortion Rights Campaign spokesperson Sinéad Redmond said, “The continued inexplicable delay in legislating to allow for safe and accessible abortion where a woman’s life is at risk is wholly unacceptable. James Reilly has been in post for two years and failed to deliver this legislation. Our own Minister for Health is actively leaving women’s lives at risk. If he can’t deliver it, Enda Kenny needs to put someone in who can.”

Also commenting, ARC spokesperson Cathie Doherty added, “It’s a slap in the face to all women living in Ireland to see how little their lives are valued by this government. We’ve seen time after time, in referendum after referendum and opinion poll after opinion poll that the people of Ireland want this legislation passed, and have done since 1992. It’s time for Leinster House to finally catch up with this and legislate to allow for the bare minimum here, which is to allow doctors to do their jobs and safely provide life-saving abortions to women whose lives are at risk.”